It was initiated to create a sense of pride
in history and of place among New Yorkers and visitors, to document significant individuals, and notable occurrences
related to the City's cultural, economic, political, and social history.

Cultural Medallions are placed on buildings associated with distinguished New Yorkers involved in the
arts, sciences, the law, business, education, sports and politics. The elegant oval terra-cotta,
black and white plaques recognize that history is about more than bricks and mortar, but what people
accomplished under the city's roofs that truly matters. "Not only do they help bring history alive,"
Diamonstein-Spielvogel says of the medallions, "they're meant to remind people of how New York became as rich and vital,
as energetic and dynamic as it is. They're also meant to inspire you in your own life.
This program is honoring the past and, we are, I hope, motivating people in the future."

About Massimo Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli

Photo: Beatriz Cifuentes

The HLPC commissioned award-winning designer, Massimo Vignelli, to design the medallion,
which Barbaralee then presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and NYC Art Commission,
for their approvals. Vignelli designed the Cultural Medallions, the Historic District Street Signs,
and the Historic District Markers pro-bono, as well, for which he has earned our deep appreciation.

Massimo Vignelli, born in Milan, Italy, studied architecture in Milan and Venice. He is President
of Vignelli Associates, New York, which he co-founded with his wife Lella. His work includes graphic
and corporate identity programs, publication designs, packaging, architectural graphics, exhibition,
interior, furniture, and consumer product designs for many leading American and European companies and institutions.

Mr. Vignelli is the recipient of many distinguished national and international awards. He has
received seven Honorary Doctorates in Fine Arts; the 1982 Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; the 1983
AIGA Gold Medal; and the 1985 USA President's Design Excellence Award. In 1996 he received the
Honorary Royal Designer for Industry Award from the Royal Society of Arts, London. Lella and Massimo
Vignelli received the 2003 National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2005 received the
Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. On September 16, 2010, the
Vignelli Center for Design Studies, was inaugurated at the RIT, Rochester Institute of Technologies.
The building will house the entire Vignelli Archive, in addition to collections of some of the best
modernist graphic designers.